


can't drown my demons

by pixelatedeyes



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - Demons, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awkward John Egbert, Demon Deals, Demon Summoning, Demon/Human Relationships, Demons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gay Rose Lalonde, Hell, Hurt/Comfort, Unrequited Crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-27
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-18 20:46:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,245
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29739633
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pixelatedeyes/pseuds/pixelatedeyes
Summary: John has fallen in love, and he feels worthless. Unwanted. Awkward. Until he finds a way to summon a crafty little demon named Vriska, who at first glance seems like an awkward girl who likes the same movies as him.But soon, he realizes there is more to Vriska than meets the eye...
Relationships: John Egbert & Vriska Serket, John Egbert/Rose Lalonde, John Egbert/Vriska Serket
Comments: 1
Kudos: 6





	can't drown my demons

The only problem John had with summoning this demon was how _cliched_ it was.

What do people normally summon demons for? Money, fame, and _love_. A few other things, maybe. But those were unimportant. Because John Egbert had fallen in love, and he was going to do everything he could to make her fall in love with him.

What, you think he didn’t try to get her attention using conventional methods? Well, that would be where you are wrong, my friend. He tried, alright. But the problem was, John was in love with a pretty little thing named Rose. And Rose did not love John, oh no.

Everything about her emanated sophistication, from her long, flowing gown to her black lipstick which lined her lips perfectly. Her deep, violet eyes seemed to _see_ you, to understand you, and every second John stared in her eyes, he felt himself falling a little more.

But Rose, _his_ Rose as she would soon be, simply laughed at John’s awkward antics. She smiled condescendingly and answered with a sarcastic reply at John’s blundering advances. She never outwardly said it, but somehow John knew that his pogo slime t-shirt and “charming” talk about movies would never be enough for her.

All this would change tonight, though. John’s mind was frantic, his fingers typing franticly at his keyboard in his room, looking for answers. A ritual, perhaps – something that she would not be able to resist. And finally _, finally_ , he would be enough.

It took him many nights of searching, many sleepless nights of looking for the perfect ritual. Perhaps he was becoming obsessive, but he no longer cared. How could he not be _enough_?

Finally, after days of searching, he came across it. The perfect spell. Apparently, it released an immensely powerful demon into the universe, one that had the power to do anything you desire. John squinted, pushing his square-rimmed glasses onto his face, and leaned forward, muttering to himself as he read the words off the screen.

“This demon goes by the name of Vriska. You must be careful while summoning her, as she is incredibly dangerous. Be warned, as she may ask for something in return for her service,” John read, the light from the computer casting a soft glow onto his face. He smiled, and read the instructions for the ritual, feeling anticipation and excitement seep into his bones. Bookmarking the page, he put Con Air on, and soon fell into a deep sleep.

_John’s eyes opened to him standing in a foggy plane, and as his eyes adjusted, he realised that he was standing in the centre of a swirling mist. The mist was pleasant, and he closed his eyes for a few seconds, letting the damp tendrils touch his face gently. Suddenly, he realised that it was no longer the mist that was touching him, but a hand! He jumped back in shock and saw to his surprise that there was a girl in front of him, despite not being sure that “girl” was the right word to use._

_She was standing there, smiling at John, waiting for some kind of acknowledgement of her existence. Eventually, she grabbed John’s hands and grinned at him._

_“Hey, John!”_

_Oh. This was a dream. Of course, no girl would voluntarily take his hands, or even speak to him. He felt like a fool for even considering the possibility._

_Despite the fact that he knew this was a dream, he couldn’t help wishing it weren’t. The girl in front of him was insanely pretty, but not in a conventional way. Her dark, cat-like eyes were framed with round glasses, and when he looked closer, he noticed that one of her eyes in fact had eight pupils. She had a petit form, and if John were standing on his tiptoes, he could most definitely put his chin on her head. Her smallness was emphasized by the enormous t-shirt she was wearing, and when he looked closer, he realised she was wearing a ghost busters t-shirt!_

_A super adorable girl who liked the same movies as him, was standing in front of him. In the flesh._

_Well. Not exactly in the flesh, considering this was a dream. But still! He felt ecstatic._

_Oops. He had kept her waiting for an answer for too long. He found himself smiling back at her, and her joy was infectious._

_“Uh, hiya!” He cringed. Who the fuck said “hiya!” anymore? A TOTAL LOSER, that’s who._

_Nevertheless, the mysterious girl didn’t seem to mind._

_“I should probably introduce myself, given we’re going to be spending a lot of time together in the next few weeks,” she grinned. Wait, did she just wink at him?_

_“We are?” God, he was so confused._

_“I’m Vriska. You’re John. Now that all the pleasantries are out of the way, maybe we should get to know each other, you know?” She spoke so fast, John was having trouble distinguishing the words she was saying._

_“Wait. You’re Vriska? That means… You’re a demon, right?”_

_She rolled her eyes. “Yeah. I don’t like to use that word, though. I like to call myself a fallen angel.” She paused for effect. “Oh, come on. It should be more dramatic than that!”_

_John couldn’t help but smile at her attempt at drama. “For the record, I am impressed. I think it’s cool, what you’re doing. But… forgive me if this is a little hard to take in.” Something else suddenly hit him in this moment. “Wait… if you’re a demon, why does this feel so real?”_

_“Took you long enough to figure it out, slimer. Can I call you that, by the way?” John shrugged. “Cool. Anyway, this is just something I do. I like to visit people who have the intention to summon me. I can’t appear to someone I can’t vibe with, you know?”_

_John was still confused, but he still nodded. “So, you’re real? This is real?”_

_“Not exactly. It’s still a dream. But I’m real. Lucky for you, of course.” She winked._

_“Uh…”_

_“But yeah! So, let’s get to know each other. How old are you?”_

_“Turning nineteen next month.” John was still baffled at the realisation that this was real, that Vriska, the petit demon nerd, was right in front of him, talking to him._

_“Oh, cool! I’m eighteen too. Well, whatever that translates to in sweeps. That’s the unit of measurement we use to measure time…” She paused again for dramatic effect. “Down there.”_

_“Wow. This is all so strange. But if this is real. I’m afraid we can’t proceed unless I know one thing about you. What’s your favourite movie?”_

_Vriska grinned, her eyes lighting up with the joy of the question. Despite the website’s warning, despite everything, John could not help being drawn to this strange demon girl._

_“Oh, maybe you don’t have it on Earth, but it’s a really good movie. It’s called Con Air.”_

Oh. My. God. _John thought._

_“Are you kidding? Mine too! Remember that bunny scene? Nick Cage is such a badass, right?”_

_They both looked at each other in excitement. “Put the bunny back in the box. Why couldn’t he put the bunny back in the box?” They said at the exact same time. They locked eyes for a second, feeling a pulse of excitement between them. Then, they both burst out laughing._

_“Nick Cage looks awesome the entire movie. Do you even get that kind of rugged beauty on Earth?” Vriska babbled, caught up in the excitement of a topic she could talk freely about._

_“Uh, sorry to break it to you, Vriska, but Nick Cage_ is _from Earth.”_

_Vriska’s face fell in shock. “What? No way! Okay, right, this basically confirms I need to be summoned as soon as possible. You’re on it, right?”_

_John grinned. “I’m on it.” Suddenly, John began fading. “Looks like I’m waking up. See you tomorrow, Vriska.”_

_“See you tomorrow, slimer.”_

John awoke, his face still tingling from smiling in his sleep. For a few moments, he sat there, on his bed, still basking in the feeling that this girl had given him. It seemed… genuine. Like he was worth more than just what was on the surface.

He remembered the way they had grinned at each other when they realised, they liked the same movie. God, he hadn’t felt that feeling of connecting with someone he liked in a while.

He liked Vriska, the fallen angel. He liked Vriska a lot.

He shook the last few remnants of sleep from his brain, and he slowly stood up, slipping on his glasses again. Today was a big day, he reminded himself. Time to buy a few things, and everything would be ready.

Time seemed to slow around him as he went about his morning routine, slipping on some jeans and a green jacket over his trademark t-shirt. Everything seemed so sluggish this morning, and the memories of his dream still clung to him as he made his way down to the corner shop.

He shook it away. Now was not the time to think about that. He had to get down to business, and part of the business involved Rose. Vriska was just the vehicle in between. Perhaps she wasn’t even sentient! Now, there was a strange thought.

Now, what did he need for the ritual? There were candles, of course. A photo frame, holding a picture of his (soon to be) beloved. Rose petals, he was fairly sure. And the actual love spell, which he had found on the internet.

The cashier gave him a strange look, but he said nothing about what he was buying. It was better not to drag innocent bystanders into his own mess.

When he got home, he looked up the ritual on the internet, and read aloud to himself.

“Place eight candles in a circle, with a photo of your beloved in the centre. Sprinkle rose petals around it and read the spell. You must believe with all your heart that it will work, and the demon will be summoned.”

He read over the spell a few times, making sure he knew the correct pronunciation. The spell translated to:

_Vriska, angel, come to me,_

_I wish for you a life; be free._

_If your conditions I will meet,_

_Then my servant you will be._

But John was not aware of this at the time.

His hands shook as he placed the candles in a circle. He wondered why there were eight candles, and not seven, or nine. Maybe he was overthinking, but he had to think about trivial things to not worry about what he was really doing.

Yet, there was a nagging voice in his mind that told him not to do it. That it was okay, Rose didn’t have to love him anyway. It didn’t matter after all.

He was afraid, to tell the truth. Summoning a demon is a big thing to do, and he was afraid of the consequences. But he had come this far, and he could not back out now.

Despite, he wanted to meet Vriska again. She intrigued him, with her totally non-evil demeaner and her nerdy obsessions and the way she smiled at him, like the world would end if he didn’t smile back.

So, he pushed on. By now, he had laid out the candles, and now moved on to the picture. He placed the picture of Rose in the frame, stopping to gaze at her for a moment. It was an old picture, one where she looked happy, slinging a carefree arm around her friend Kanaya. John had cut Kanaya out of the picture, making it easier to believe that Rose was smiling for him.

He knew the truth, and yet he pushed on. He placed the photo at the centre, and sprinkled Rose petals around it.

He crossed his legs.

Taking a deep breath, he thought about how most of his life had been leading up to this moment. How everything he had done had been for someone to appreciate him. For someone to love him.

Perhaps this wasn’t morally correct, he had thought. And yet he did it, didn’t he? We all know that he did. Because wanting to be loved is a terrible thing, one that is difficult to escape from.

John slowly built up his courage and began to chant.

_Vmasnnoa, oaghor, a'rlo a' rlo,_

_I llash ra'm iya'au oa raro; fao rmoo._

_Ir iya'aum a'caaa's I llarr rloo,_

_Tho rliy somrroa iya'au llarr fao._

His throat was sore, and yet he still chanted. His eyes squeezed tight, his hands clenched, his knuckles white. He tried to relax, but yet he began to shake harder and harder, his eyes rolling back in his head as light began to glow from his eyes.

Oh God, the pain. The pain was unbearable, like being burnt alive. And yet he still chanted, his voice ringing deep and true in his tiny apartment. He could not stop his mouth from moving. Oh God. Why wouldn’t the pain stop?

 _Please stop this_. 

_End the pain._

_Please._

And just like that, it ended.

His body felt light, and empty. And his hands slowly came to a stop.

There was a girl in front of him. He knew this girl’s name.

Her face was filled with concern, and her eyes were filled with light.

“Hi, John,” she said, and that was the last thing he remembered before he blacked out.

**Author's Note:**

> That's the first chapter of this new fic that's been in my head for ages, but has only now just made its way to life. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave a comment if you did! Your comments motivate me to keep writing. There isn't much JohnVris fanfiction in this world, and I hope I can add a little to the pile. :)


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